Global Comparison Finds Tokyoites Get the Least Sleep

Data recently collated by Jawbone has found that, on average, people in Tokyo get the least sleep of 45 cities worldwide. Even in New York, the city that never sleeps (but lies occasionally, according to the data), people get an hour of sleep more than Tokyoites who only average 5 hours and 44 minutes a night – far under the recommended 7.5-8 hours.

We’d like to claim this is because of constant partying and living in a place too awesome to waste by sleeping, and we’re sure that’s true for some, but for the vast majority it’s due to Tokyo’s relentless working culture. Even though the average Tokyoite gets up around 5am, the almost mandatory hours of (often unpaid) overtime and the expectancy to drink with colleagues a few times a week after eventually finishing means that most don’t get to bed until after 11pm. As we reported last year, the majority of people in Tokyo are against 24 hour public transportation, most likely because they regularly need a ‘last train home’ as a valid excuse to finally leave.

The statistics are a little less damning when you consider the culturally-accepted nap time people seem to get on the trains in Tokyo though (magically waking up at the correct station), and it’s also worth mentioning that the highest average amount of sleep was still under seven hours (Melbourne, 6hrs 58mins).